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About

EPICS provides learning opportunities (FREE Community Trainings) for families and the professionals that work with them on topics such as:

IDEA - Individuals with Disabilities Education Act - Overview

IEP - Individualized Education Program - Process

IFSP - Individualized Family Service Plan - Process for infant and toddlers with disabilities or developmental delay.

Transition from Part C to Part B Preschool Special Education

Transition from High School to College

Transition from Middle School to High School

Transition into Adulthood

Record Keeping

Part C - Early Intervention Process

Part B - Special Education Process

Bullying

SERVICES

We are a Community Parent Resource Center serving families who have Native American children with disabilities or developmental delays in NM, including those with special healthcare needs, and the professionals that work with them.

TRAINING: We provide FREE community training for families in several topical areas such as Overview of IDEA, the IEP & IFSP Process, Record Keeping, Transition from Part C to Part B, Transition from High School, Transition from Middle School, Bullying, Parent Rights in both Part C & B, and Advocacy. We work collaboratively with Early Intervention agencies, Head Start, Early Head Start, BIE-FACE, Tribal Education Departments, Tribal ICWA, Public Schools, BIE Grant/Contract Schools & BIE Operated Schools, and other agencies and service providers serving American Indian children and families. Parents and Professionals can request training.

ADVOCACY: We provide ongoing advocacy support, helping families make informed and relevant decisions best for their children and their family. Our staff maintains contact with families who request our services; such as, one-on-one IEP or IFSP consultations, writing letters to schools, requesting information, understanding their Rights & Procedural Safeguards, and assisting them in finding the leaders within themselves so they in turn become stronger advocates for their children, as well as helping their children become self-advocates.

PARENT-TO-PARENT CONNECTION: We provide parent-to-parent connections by matching parents with others who have or share similar experiences to provide advice, support, generate ideas and create a stronger support-system. We have a cohort of family leaders who have attended most of our training, have gone through leadership development and have experience in navigating the early intervention, special education, general education and healthcare systems. Parents can call us and ask to be matched with a family.

RESOURCE & REFERRAL: Our resource library is currently in its development stage, but parents can come to our library and use our (internet ready) computers to look up resources and write letters during our regular business hours of 8:00am – 4:30pm Monday to Fridays. We can also provide information on resources, topics, and networks.